Blogwar XXXVI: GAKKA WAKKA WAKKA

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on August 27, 2008

Categories: Retailing/Industry

Like I said, with kindergarten drop off, I’m in to work HOURS before the store opens, so rather than working on the new order form (6 days left!), let’s try this one more time… (But, under the cut, ‘cuz I know only a small percentage of people care about any of this) What’s funny is that if I knew how to link images (I always have to call Jeff to link them for me, that’s how sad I am!), I probably would have picked the same piece as Dirk just did. Heh, that really sums our “conversations” quite well! (Side note: according to the permalink, that’s post #666 on the new journalista. Nicely satanic!) Either way, I really like Dirk….  Read More…

12 (and then some) Reasons Why

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Posted by: Graeme McMillan on

Categories: Reviews

Because Jeff asked and David Brothers threatened, here are 50 things that I love about comics, including at least one comic that I really, really would love to write, in case anyone at DC Comics is reading and desperate (Actually, I think that the next weekly book DC does should be an anthology of work by internet critics, forced to do at least one strip each so that all the professionals get to point and laugh at us for a change. It’d sell like crap, but imagine the schaudenfruede!). Anyway – More reviews later this week, I promise. For now, click that “Click to read more” and… well, read more. (Also, if “anonymous” called Jeff a fanboy, he/she’ll love me.)…  Read More…

Tuesday-Type Content: 50 Things Jeff Likes About Comics.

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Posted by: Jeff Lester on August 26, 2008

Categories: Uncategorized

I really liked David Brothers’ ’50 Things I Like’ list he did recently over on 4th Letter, as well as some of the lists he reprinted and linked to as a result. And last time I saw him, David said, as we parted, “hey, you should do a list.” Somehow that led to me not being able to sleep past 6 AM on a Sunday morning as I sorted and re-sorted the little sublists I’d do. Anyway, post-jump: 50 things I like about comics, with hopefully just the right amount of commentary. 5 Great “Eras” for Publishers DC in the late ’50s, early ’60s: A legacy that’s like the pyramids in Egypt–lovely to look at, but I’m damn glad I…  Read More…

Touched For The Very Last Time: Hibbs on Virgin’s collapse

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on

Categories: Retailing/Industry

I’m still getting used to this whole “kindergarten” thing — it isn’t in my natural disposition to leave the house before 7:30 in the morning, really — but it DOES give me a smidge more time before the store opens. What I SHOULD be doing right now is the new order form, but I’ve still got 7 days until it is late, so while I’m waiting for ONOMATOPOEIA to print on the photocopier, let me spout off a little, instead of doing “real” work! (I COULD save this for a TILTING, but by then it will be “two weeks old”) So, anyway, Virgin Comics has shut down, seemingly suddenly and in the middle of the night. Much like everyone else,…  Read More…

Arriving 8/27/08

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on August 25, 2008

Categories: Shipping Lists

Three FINAL CRISIS tie-ins; every “Avengers” comic (including the kids-oriented one) all shipping, and a pair of Ellis’ Avatar titles. 2000 AD #1597 2000 AD #1598 A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #87 (A) AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #569 NWDAMBUSH BUG YEAR NONE #2 (OF 6)ANGEL REVELATIONS #4 (OF 5)AVENGERS INITIATIVE #16 SIBART SIMPSON COMICS #43BATMAN GOTHAM AFTER MIDNIGHT #4 (OF 12)BETTY & VERONICA #237BETTY & VERONICA DIGEST #187BLACK PANTHER #40 SIBLUE BEETLE #30BOY WHO MADE SILENCE #6 BRIT #8CALIBER #5 (OF 5)CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #48CATWOMAN #82CTHULHU TALES #3 CVR BDAREDEVIL #110DC UNIVERSE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT #1DMZ #34 DOKTOR SLEEPLESS #8 WRAP CVR (RES) EMILY THE STRANGE II ALONE ISSUE #4FALLEN ANGEL IDW #29 FAMILY DYNAMIC #1 (OF 3)FANTASTIC FOUR TRUE…  Read More…

This review is light on pictures because the book’s the same way: Jog on the oddest release of 8/20

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Posted by: Joe McCulloch on

Categories: Reviews

Faust Vol. 1 Boy, Tim Vigil sure has changed. No, no wait – this is something else, in every sense of the phrase. Faust, just to get one thing out of the way right up top, is not primarily manga – it’s an irregularly published Japanese literary journal, albeit one with a comics section, founded in 2003 by editor-in-chief Katsushi Ōta and published by book giant/Big Three manga publisher Kodansha. It’s fashioned as a squarebound ‘mook’ — a supple book with the glossy design and continuing features of a magazine — and runs anywhere from 500 to 1200+ pages per volume. Vol. 7 was just released in Japan a few weeks ago. The particular item we’re looking at today is…  Read More…

Abhay Writes about AIR #1, While Eating Wontons

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on August 24, 2008

Categories: Reviews

I’m undecided on AIR #1. Well, not really: I think it’s not very good. But, shit, I want to like it. It’s an implausible comic book. Action scenes obey no logic; characters’ actions make little sense; dialogue doesn’t resemble actual human speech; none of the emotions seem real. Fine. So: dream logic, then…? That seems to be how the book wants to be judged. The book opens with a wink to Salman Rushdie’s SATANIC VERSES, perhaps to signal to readers that the book will traffic in a similar sort of magical realism. And– and that’s something, isn’t it? Trusting readers to be savvy enough to not only catch that reference but to be able to infer a meaning from that…  Read More…

Two Comics and One Not from 8/20

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on August 22, 2008

Categories: Reviews

The Castro Theatre here in town is showing a sing-along copy of THE LITTLE MERMAID this week (through the 28th). There are two shows a day — one at 2 PM and one at 7:30 PM. Today, at least, the 2pm showing is all about the kindergartener (Ben starts on Monday, jeez we’re nervous. He’s not, however), and I quite imagine that the 7:30 show is going to be about the drag queens, but if you either like the film, or have a little kid, then I really recommend going. What’s nice about THE LITTLE MERMAID is that it works in nearly equal measure for both boys AND girls. Ben can barely stand SLEEPING BEAUTY or CINDERELLA or SNOW WHITE,…  Read More…

Arriving 8/20/2008

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on August 18, 2008

Categories: Shipping Lists

Smallish week, but some good things… AIR #1 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #568 NWDANNA MERCURY #3 (OF 5) PAINTED CVR ARCHIE #588BATGIRL #2 (OF 6)BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #10BIRDS OF PREY #121BRAVE AND THE BOLD #16CAPTAIN AMERICA #41CARTOON NETWORK ACTION PACK #28CASEY BLUE BEYOND TOMORROW #4 (OF 6)CHARLATAN BALL #3CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #2 DARK IVORY #3 (OF 4)DC SPECIAL CYBORG #4 (OF 5)DC WILDSTORM DREAMWAR #5 (OF 6)DOCTOR WHO FORGOTTEN #1 DRAFTED #10FEAR AGENT #23 1 AGAINST 1 (PT 2 OF 6)FINAL CRISIS LEGION OF THREE WORLDS #1 (OF 5)FLASH #243FOOLKILLER WHITE ANGELS #2 (OF 5) GHOST RIDER #26GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #4 SIHACK SLASH SERIES #15 SEELEY CVR B HELM #2 (OF 4)INCREDIBLE HERCULES #120 SIIRON FIST ORIGIN OF DANNY RANDIRON MAN…  Read More…

“I Should Write Some Boring Reviews Of Comics," Said Abhay, Out Loud, to Nobody in Particular.

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on

Categories: Reviews

I’ll try to avoid spoilers and skip the Jump; sorry if I screw up. THE ASTOUNDING WOLFMAN #7 by ROBERT KIRKMAN, JASON HOWARD, and RUS WOOTEN: I watched this video of Robert Kirkman the other day; he put out this odd video saying that established comic creators should focus exclusively on their own comics, and quit their jobs, and something-something-kids. But I had a weird time turning 30, too, so who am I to judge? Anyways, it at least worked as a marketing video, and successfully reminded me that guy existed and that I didn’t really have an articulate reason why I don’t read his comics other than “Tony Moore stopped drawing them.” So, this WOLFMAN thing: it’s apparently about…  Read More…

A History of Punishment for Adults: Jog reaches the last, black page on 8/13

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Posted by: Joe McCulloch on August 17, 2008

Categories: Reviews

The Punisher MAX #60 I think it’s useful to compare this comic — the last of writer Garth Ennis’ run on the series — with another thing Marvel released this week: The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe, a reprint of material from 1995. That was Ennis’ first work on the character; he was 25 years old, though already a professional comics writer for over than half a decade. It’s not a very good comic. The What If…? type concept is that Frank Castle’s family is accidentally killed in the middle of a superhero battle (instead of a gangland firefight) and the opening pages do have some nasty kick, with various Marvel superheroes standing around in their rainbow-hued spandex regalia, annoyedly…  Read More…

Reminder: Garage Sale is Today

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Posted by: admin on August 16, 2008

Categories: Uncategorized

You can also consider this post a reminder that I still have no idea how to use a flash: These and other fine books, only a quarter each. (I should mention I’ve got a box full of old Comics Journals, and I’m letting those go for only fifty cents each.) I’m on Cortland Avenue between Andover and Moultrie, 94110 (although this isn’t the address use 515 Cortland to get a close enough fix on my location). We’re going to be near the rubble of the old library, and next to the storage containmnent cube. Yes, it’s a garage sale, Armagetto-style! And I hope you can turn out. We’ll be there from 9 to 4. See you there!  

Tilting at Windmills v3 #4 is live

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on August 15, 2008

Categories: Retailing/Industry

You can find the newest Tilting at Windmills up right here. Go, read, give Jonah hits. -B

No Wind in the Sails Tonight, But Here’s Abhay and Secret Invasion #5 Anyways.

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Posted by: Abhay Khosla on August 14, 2008

Categories: Reviews

As part of my relentless pursuit to understand all things secret and invasive (e.g. your dad’s hands), I attended a symposium dedicated to SECRET INVASION comic books, held at the 2008 San Diego Film Festival or “Comic-Con” as it’s sometimes called. Within a half hour of arriving in San Diego, I was standing outside of the Hard Rock Hotel watching four bouncers rub a drunk, overweight, middle-aged Hispanic woman’s face into the pavement while she yelled “Yo, why you gotta twist my thumbs? Why you gotta be twistin’ on my thumbs?” But unfortunately, the entire weekend could not be that entertaining or make me feel that hopeful about my fellow man. The way the panel works is about 20-30 gentlemen…  Read More…

Time for the Garage Sale: Jeff Talks Prep and Pleads

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Posted by: Jeff Lester on

Categories: Uncategorized

As always, my timing sucks because I’m so happy Graeme’s got a post up that I hate the idea someone might miss it with all the following hoo-ha I’m about to throw your way. So please make sure to see Graeme’s post below! Thank you. So it’s time for the annual hillwide garage sale in Bernal Heights this Saturday: that means people all over the hill will be having sales in front of their homes and apartments. And it means that, once again, I will be out on Cortland Avenue with a table, a bunch of long boxes, and some embarrassingly low prices: after much consideration, I’ve decided to hold my prices to a quarter a book. Google maps is…  Read More…

Patience Is A Virtue: Graeme’s getting bored with Secret Invasion

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Posted by: Graeme McMillan on August 13, 2008

Categories: Reviews

Here’s the thing. When I got to the last page of Secret Invasion #4, and I saw Thor arrive and the glimpse of Captain America, I thought, okay, so #5 is going to see them getting involved and maybe something will finally happen in the series. Well, SECRET INVASION #5 made half of that come true, I guess. Just the less expected half. The complete lack of Cap and Thor in this issue just made me concentrate on the incredibly weird pacing of this series so far: What was the point of teasing their appearance so blatantly when you’re not going to show them at all in the following issue? Probably the same point as having nothing whatsoever happening for…  Read More…

From The More Things Change Department…

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Posted by: Jeff Lester on August 11, 2008

Categories: Retailing/Industry

Going through my stuff in preparation for my upcoming garage sale and came across this lovely number: What amuses me about this issue of Comics Interview from 1987 isn’t the boast that we’ll be watching the Watchmen, but the corner claim about Alan Moore says farewell to comics “at least for now.” No wonder Affable Al believes we live our lives over and over again!  

Arriving 8/13/2008

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on

Categories: Shipping Lists

More line items than we’ve seen in a few weeks, hope you like SECRET INVASION… 100 BULLETS #94 2000 AD #1595 2000 AD #1596 A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #86 (A) ACTION COMICS #868AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #23AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #567ANGEL AFTER THE FALL #11ARCHIE & FRIENDS #122ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #191ASTONISHING X-MEN #26 MDATOMIC ROBO DOGS OF WAR #1 (OF 5)BATMAN #679 RIPBATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #20BATMAN STRIKES #48BOOSTER GOLD #11BPRD THE WARNING #2 (OF 5)BROTHERS IN ARMS #3BUCKAROO BANZAI THE PREQUEL #1 (OF 2)CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI 13 #4 SICHECKMATE #29CHUCK #3 (OF 6)CTHULHU TALES #4 CVR ADELPHINE #3DOCTOR WHO #6EVERYBODYS DEAD #5FALL OF CTHULHU GODWAR #1 (OF 4) CVR AFANTASTIC FOUR #559FINAL CRISIS REVELATIONS #1 (OF 5)FIREBREATHER SERIES #2FRANK FRAZETTAS DRACULA MEETS THE…  Read More…

The POS follies: Part 11b

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Posted by: Brian Hibbs on August 10, 2008

Categories: Retailing/Industry

For the dozen or so of you who care about such things, in our last installment I discussed taking some 1400 items off the racks when the POS system says “Hey, that doesn’t sell!” “But, Brian,” some asked, “What are we going to do with 39 Avengers?!?” Er, no, wait, the question was about 1400 removed-from-stock books, same diff. Well, we have a sale, I guess. My wife gets invited to Nordstrom’s “Customer appreciation sales” which is like a pre-sale sale for Nordstrom’s “best” customers (she’s not actually one of those, but my stepmother is, so…), and I thought it was a great idea to try and emulate. So, we invited all of our subscribers (box customers, whatever you call…  Read More…

I’ll Make A Brand New Start of It: Diana Has A 2005 Flashback, 6/8

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Posted by: admin on

Categories: Reviews

Oh, NYX. You came and you took without giving. So I sent you away. Fat lot of good that did. Even after three years, NYX is still on my Top Five Embarrassing Marvel Moments list: a 7-issue series written by the EIC himself, with delays between issues that varied from nine months to over a year. The jokes would practically write themselves: it took Lance Bass less time to come out, we’d have to send our grandchildren to pick up NYX #8, Quesada was retconning every issue as he wrote it… the whole thing was one big fuster-cluck. And now, here we are with NYX: NO WAY HOME #1, and all that baggage is… well, still around, really. So what…  Read More…

You swear you’ve been bitten: Douglas reads three new Spider-Man comics and more

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Posted by: admin on August 9, 2008

Categories: Reviews

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN itself has had two skip weeks in a row, but we’ve gotten three other Spider-Man books instead–the new FAMILY series, a SUMMER SPECIAL, and a BRAND NEW DAY EXTRA. Reviews of all three, plus INVINCIBLE IRON MAN and FINAL CRISIS, under the cut. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FAMILY #1: The final page explains that this is the new identity of SPIDER-MAN FAMILY–the fat bimonthly title that includes vintage Spider-Man reprints and done-in-one new stories–now that it’s been brought into the Stephen Wacker-edited Spider-Man group. Despite the Brand New Day banner on the cover, though, only one story here takes place in the current narrative–an 11-page Aunt May story. It’s billed as “Aunt May, Agent of F.E.A.S.T.,” which is a…  Read More…